activation email

[Adenn Kyram]

Concept looks epic vod. also I vote C. As for your thread fraying is your spool of thread damaged or is it really old that can sometimes make it fray. my mom is an awesome seamstress so I can ask her what else could cause that problem for you.

[Alta]

Don't feel the need just to rush for us Take your time and get it right.

^ This. Just be aware that we're all on the edge of our seats with this.

loving the sketches and voting for fur C, but the two-tone D/B combo would look great as well

Concept looks epic vod. also I vote C. As for your thread fraying is your spool of thread damaged or is it really old that can sometimes make it fray. my mom is an awesome seamstress so I can ask her what else could cause that problem for you.

Aww, you guys are great! Many thanks for all the support and feedback yall! Much love!

As far as the thread goes, the spools don't appear to be damaged and I know most of the thread I've been using is not all that old. I actually tried several different spools cuz originally I thought maybe I just had bad thread, but it did it to each and every single one, even one that was suppose to be heavy duty thread, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm really stumped at this point as to how it keeps happening and why it seems to be on and off. :/ If it's not too much trouble, I would love to hear what your mom has to say, as I can't figure out for the life of me what's going on. I'm a novice when it comes to sewing and unfortunately mom only really knows how to do repairs, so neither of us have been able to figure it out. Any and all help into solving the mystery would be greatly appreciated!

The legacy kit is getting close to done. The old stitching in the thigh plate straps has been ripped out and replaced (the ones that show anyways lol). I'm finishing up reinforcing the vest (as I found out it's actually made of twill and I saw a post where one-sided twill is usually not strong enough, so I'm reinforcing it to see if it can fix my sliding plates issue lol). After that it's redoing the knee strapping, fiddling with the neck seal a tad, touching up the paint on the crown, and working on making those tabs and then painting them.

Hopefully most of this won't take too bad long (the tabs may take a while though). So hopefully I'll have more for yall soon! 

[seugtai]

Do you have just a regular sewing machine (meaning not one that's designed for heavy duty fabrics)? Just curious as I'm trying to figure out why mine keeps doing what it's doing. The top thread frays and then snaps now and again. I loosened the tension, and that seemed to help, but then after like, 3 straps had been sewn and what not, it randomly started doing it again. I can't figure out why it keeps doing that :/

I do, I have a Singer Ingenuity. There are a couple things that could be causing the top thread to break. Check to make sure your needle isn't in backwards. (On most, the flat side is toward the back, check your book if you have one.) Your tension could be too tight which has been mentioned. If you have to manually set this it can be tricky. Is your needle slightly bent or is the tip blunt? If you've had a needle or two break it can cause a  burr on the needle hole of the presser foot that the thread could be snagging on. Do you have the correct size needle for the material you are sewing? If your sewing a heavy material and don't have a heavy duty needle this could be the cause. Or a too fine needle with a heavy thread. You may need to check your bobbin case for built up lint and dirt and clean it out. Again if you have your book it should walk you through talking it all out so you can clean it. (I 've had to clean mine several times) Also make sure you aren't pulling the material through, let the machine take it, doing this can cause and irregular sewing speed and can cause the tread to fray and break. Hopefully one of those things will fix it. If none of them do it could be something that needs to be serviced, like the take-up spring could be bent or broken or the pin that controls the tension could be worn out and no matter where you set the tension it wont help. LOL Hopefully one of those things helps solve the problem or someone else has some other ideas. Best of luck solving that problem, I know, it can be very frustrating.

[Niabi]

I had a similar prob when i was sewing the Velcro on to my vest (upholstery leather), i spok to me mum (top notch seamstress)  the prob was my needle. so got a heavy duty leather needle and Bam... no more prob

[Adenn Kyram]

Alta I asked my mom and she says it could be a bad needle. also if you are using real suede use a leather needle or if your using fake suede use a microfiber needle. I hope that helps   

[Alta]

Many thanks yall for all the help! I picked up some heavy duty needles at Jo-ann's the other day, so hopefully those will solve the problem. I still have some scraps leftover from when I made the straps. Sadly, I have no idea what kind of suede they are as the scraps were taken from a pair of 20 something year old pants lol XD But I managed to fix the straps already in spite of the top thread issue.

I also found various types of suede at Jo-ann's, upholstery grade, and some for costuming. Haven't looked at another fabric store that we have though, so I'm going to look there too. I hear they have micro-suede and other various suede.

Still working on various repairs on the Legacy kit in addition to trying to get some color and fur mock ups for yall. Hopefully I'll have something new for yall to look at soon 

[Alta]

Aaannnddd I'm back lol, sorta. Made some "discoveries" while trying to do the color mock ups which unfortunately led to certain fur choices getting left out. I'll show yall what I have first and then explain lol.

Here are the options (thus far; also note, I forgot about the shoulder pelts, if those stay, they'll be treated kinda like the trophy belts that dangle from the belt):



And here is my explanation as to why the beautiful fur choice C sadly got left out.

I realized while making this that I had to shrink the actual fur choice to get it to fit the shape around the neck area. This makes me worry that I would have to butcher the actual fabric when it comes time for construction, thus destroying the faux fur's beautiful color changing pattern and leaving the potential for it to look like white fur with a big brown streak down the middle. Add this to the fact that the store that has this fur only has one remnant of it and that remnant has a stain. I never really stop to think about it before I started working on the color mock up. Now that I have though, I'm not as sure about it. I'm tempted to still buy the remnant and use part of it as a trophy pelt, but I'm not 100% sure as of yet.

Now on to my next worry.

I shopped around the two big (somewhat reasonably priced) fabric stores for suede the other day. The micro suede choices at Hancock Fabrics were awful. There were all wonky colors and the only brown they had was SUPER dark and would likely not show any weathering on it now matter what I tried. Jo-ann's has the upholstery grade like Seugtai used, same color and everything, and has some costuming suede but not in quite the right shade of brown I'm going for, so I'm kinda eyeballing the upholstery one more.

However, the upholstery shade and the foxy brown fur are very similar in color, or at least they seem to be when I'm looking at photos. I'm a little worried that if I go the upholstery suede route and use the brown fur that I'll look very monochrome, and I'm not quite sure I like that thought.

What do yall think? I've been kicking this one around in my head for a while and I'm stumped. In the color options that I've posted, the one's with the foxy fur have a slightly darker color on the flight suit, but I'm not 100% sure I can get my hands on quite that shade. And thus goes my dilemma.

Any suggestions and or feedback here would be greatly appreciated! I'm chasing my tail on this one.

On another note, the trophy furs will likely be made of different fur options then the bulk fur choice, so that there will be more variation and what not.

And now on to the weapon discussion what nots. I'm kinda wanting to do a bowcaster like weapon. Here is a ref pic of one of the Early Era guys using one, found by the lovely Seugtai



I've been looking this thing over and trying to figure it out. I've got a slight base sketch done, but not much other than that. I've been trying to figure out how to greable this thing up, but keeping it "in era" so to speak. Been having a bit of trouble with that.

And also, is it just me or does the "bow" part look like antlers? Cuz I think they look like antlers, though thinking about the more modernish bowcasters, I'm not sure having antlers there would make sense, though it might look really cool. Not sure though. What do yall think?

In any event, feed back on all of this is appreciated! Sorry for the ultra long post, but I thought I might as well get it all out there instead of spamming lol.

[Tracyn Ordo]

I looks like you have put a lot of thought into this which is great! Personally I think D is best, as the light brown fur suits the colour scheme more IMHO, but the different fur for the forearm breaks it up just that little bit and prevents it from being too plain. I'd say don't worry about being too monochrome as with an early crusader kit like this, they didn't tend to have contrasting colours like modern era does. I think the plates themselves and the different shades of fur will accent it nicely, without being too over the top.
In regards to the bowcaster, I think that is very a kandosii idea, and can't wait to see it come together. In fact when I (eventually) make myself a early crusader I may actually steal that idea as I think there is a lot of potential for a wickedly cool and unique weapon there.

[misstori]

I think I prefer B. Those warm lovely colors on your first kit looked beautiful on you and these are similar to those colors.

[seugtai]

Obviously I like "B" or "D" since those are the colors I went with and as Tracyn said they are typically the colors seen in the era.

It's a shame Hancock Fabrics didn't have a larger color selection for you as that's where I picked up my suede. I did get it in the marked down section of the upholstery fabrics tho.

I love the idea of the prod's being made of antler bones, I definitely think that's the direction you need to go with it! That was the main concern with the rest of the approval team, was keeping it in era and not making it look like a modern bowcaster. Just keep it primitive and you'll be good. You already know I can't wait to see that thing made since I have just a tiny bit of weapon envy now after finding that!

And young lady, where is your LEGACY APP.?

[Alta]

I looks like you have put a lot of thought into this which is great! Personally I think D is best, as the light brown fur suits the colour scheme more IMHO, but the different fur for the forearm breaks it up just that little bit and prevents it from being too plain...

In regards to the bowcaster, I think that is very a kandosii idea, and can't wait to see it come together. In fact when I (eventually) make myself a early crusader I may actually steal that idea as I think there is a lot of potential for a wickedly cool and unique weapon there.

Lol I always put a lot of thought into my builds lol. I did with the Legacy kit too, I just didn't document it as much. I'll do better about documenting this go round And many thanks for the feedback!

As for the old timey bowcaster, steal away! I'll make sure I document it well too so that you can have lots of reference pics or what not, so you can take what you want and all that jazz lol.

I think I prefer B. Those warm lovely colors on your first kit looked beautiful on you and these are similar to those colors.

Aww, thank you And many thanks for the feed back! Color options are always super hard for me lol XD

Obviously I like "B" or "D" since those are the colors I went with and as Tracyn said they are typically the colors seen in the era.

It's a shame Hancock Fabrics didn't have a larger color selection for you as that's where I picked up my suede. I did get it in the marked down section of the upholstery fabrics tho.

I love the idea of the prod's being made of antler bones, I definitely think that's the direction you need to go with it! That was the main concern with the rest of the approval team, was keeping it in era and not making it look like a modern bowcaster. Just keep it primitive and you'll be good. You already know I can't wait to see that thing made since I have just a tiny bit of weapon envy now after finding that!

And young lady, where is your LEGACY APP.?

Lol! Well I appreciate the feedback all the same! And ya, it's unfortunate about Handcock Fabrics. That store has been hit or miss with me and they did some things in the past that have irked me, but I think they have a new manager now and I like him OK so I'm going to try doing business with them again. They're also the only one with decent faux fur around here so that helps. Maybe they'll get some more suede in later on, as it's Halloween and they might just be tapped out. I planned on making the helmet first anyways so no worries there. If they do fail to get more though, I always have Jo-ann's! Thank goodness for multiple stores, eh? 

Glad yall like the antler bone idea! I was really stumped as to what they were suppose to be lol. I've tried finding more Early Era pics of bowcasters but haven't had much luck. I'll keep at it though. Greebling this thing up is what I'm most worried about, that and how to do this so that this thing doesn't way a ton. I'll make another post later on tonight about how I'm hoping to do that, as it will be long and this is already getting to be a lengthy post as it is lol.

And you can haz old timey bowcaster too! Don't let me stop you lol XD

And sorry I haven't sent the Legacy app in yet ><; I got sick for about two weeks after D*Con and then had a horrible case of burn out. I have been doing a little work here and there though and I hope to have it in before Halloween, hopefully by the end of next week, preferably. Sorry for the delay ^^;

[Karvas Dral]

I think any of the choices would look awesome. The concept is just so cool as it is!

[Alta]

Many thanks guys again for all the feedback! Just wanted to post this slight change in the B mock up to see if yall still like it, just in case I can't get my hands on a slightly darker shade in the suede. Here's it with the lighter version.



Yall still like it? Just wanting to make sure lol. That weapons post will hopefully be up shortly.

[Calder Varad]

Dat pic and bowcaster! It's looking so cool already, I can't wait to see you start it. The antler idea is seriously cool, and I'd love to see how you go about it.

[Ru'Der Marekar]

I may be running a bit late, as far as timely replys go ... but now that my kit is done I have more time to peruse the forums  8)

For the furry color combinations I like the contrast between the grey fur and the brown flight suit. Just my humble opinion.
But as far as the picture of the bow caster goes, that is an awesome idea! OYA!

[Alta]

*Shakes off dust on thread*

So sorry for the delay. Stuff happened. But I did say this would be a slow thing, right? ^^; In any event here's a little update:

Talking to folks about how to go about building the helmet. That may be in the works shortly. Still gotta do some research but things are coming along nicely in the prep department. Stay tuned for more on that.

As far as the soft parts go, I think I've decided on option B but D may come about if fur sales are cheap(ish). If I can find some coupons or scraps I may still do a mock up of the gray fur with the white tips just to see how it looks but that depends on money and what nots.

Bowcaster. Dat bowcaster. It's been given me some trouble in the concept department. I know I don't need to greebile it up too much as that will likely make it lose it's Early Era feel but at the same time I don't want it to be so incredibly plain that it's just one giant wooden blah. In any event, here's what I have so far on it! (Brace yourself for all of the options!)



Here's the pic from the comic, just to refresh folks memories:



As you can see, I'm kinda stumped on several ideas, special with the front half of the bowcaster. I have the option of having the antlers be the only things mounted on the side in the front (option B), having a cube like thing mounted just before the antlers (Aa), a fin like thing mounted before the antlers (Ab), or a cube like thing that actually goes underneath the bottom portion of the bowcaster and comes out on the other side in a similar fashion with the antlers mounted behind it (see option Ac). Not sure which looks better. Thoughts?

For the little connector bits (so technical lol) that connect the tips of the antlers to the mid section of the bowcaster (where I typed Hammered Metal?), what do yall think of that stuff being hammered metal? The thought came to mind because I was worried that anything fiberglass or wood would break. What do yall think?

For the front section near the actual umm, muzzle? (Will go with that, also, see bottom of the concept sketch to see what I'm talking about). For the little sights, (which may or may not be needed/a good idea) I've thought of the option of doing something more "fin like" (see option A at the bottom of the page on the side view) or something more "prong like" (see option B, side view). Thoughts on that?

Also, thinking about adding a little extended section on the sides (see hand grip on side view) for extra hand grip. Thoughts on that? I'm trying to give this thing some shape but also make it practical/functional.

Last but not least, the little area on the side view that mentions a scope. Do yall think having a very simple, old looking scope would kill this thing being Early Era? Just curious.

Now we get to the topic of size. Obviously in the comic, the thing is huge. However, I am a girl, and although I'm pretty tough and can lift a good bit, the idea of lugging around something as huge as the comic implies (especially considering how it's held) does not appeal to me. But at the same time, I know the bowcasters size is partially what gives it that Early Era feel. So I've been thinking about whether this should be an under that shoulder weapon (as depicted in the comic) or a "butts up to shoulder" style weapon. Under the shoulder would put this thing at about 36" while the 'butts up to shoulder" would be about 32-33". Not much a difference but a few inches could make a great deal of difference weight wise. What do yall think? Just wanting to hear yalls thoughts on the matter.

So that's all I have for now. Please let me know what yall think as I've kinda hit a wall and am in desperate need of some other opinions lol. And, as always, thoughts and feedback is always appreciate 

[Tracyn Ordo]

Glad to see you are back at it Made any more steps toward getting your other kit approved yet?

In regards to the box thingamy, it feels to me like it might be the powerpack, and therefore (to me) it would make sense to have it under the barrel.

A thin strip of hammered metal might look good for the 'connector' bits, but I'm thinking it could also look a little bit out of place. As far as an alternative goes though, i'll have to sleep on that, nothing springs to mind

I think that a scope would look a bit out of place IMHO. Something like standard iron sights could be incorporated in such a way that they looked far more cohesive with the organic nature of the whole thing, whereas for a scope to be recognisable as a scope, it would look a bit like it was just tacked on as an after thought.

For the extra hang grip, I don't think you need anything attached to the sides, because of the organic nature of the weapon you should easily be able to integrate a shaped handgrip into the body itself, and again, it would look more cohesive, and less like it had been stuck on at a late stage.

In regards to size, I think the huge size of the one in the reference image can be put down to artist's licence. I'd estimate the one in the reference image is in the vicinity of 50-60" if not more. If I were doing it for myself, I would probably make it somewhere in the range of 34-38", but I'm 6'4" tall, so obviously you would want to scale it down accordingly

Over all, because it is a very organically shaped weapon, I think, rather than using greeblies to add details, it should be the shape and form of the weapon itself, and everything should appear fully integrated, rather than bolted on.

My thoughts anyway

[Alta]

<.< I'm working on it >.> .....slowly......^^;

So are you saying with the box thing that you like the Ac design? Just curious as I want this thing to have some shape but not too much shape if that makes sense. So I've been trying to think of things to add that make sense and add to the shape and feel without adding clutter.

If you think of any alternatives for the connector bits, let me know, as I am as stumped as I can be on what to make 'em out of ^^;

Well I was thinking really old and simple looking scope as some of their weapons seem to have them. I think a really dumbed down scope wouldn't be too far of a stretch, but I'm not the expert on this era. And although this weapon needs to have an organic vibe, all the steam looking like stuff coming out of it makes me think that it's gonna have some extra bits on it that might be not so organic. Just my thoughts. Does any of that make sense? ^^;

I see what your saying on the extra hand grip. As stated before I was just trying to help give this weapon some shape. It seemed so formless on paper and so I got worried. Depending on what I make this out of though, incorporating shape into the design out of the form itself may be difficult. Guess that's just the nature of the beast though. I'll try to find a way around it.

The size isn't so much what I'm worried about. I'll make sure that I scale it to my height (6'). Just curious as to what you thought about whether it should be a shoulder mount (like a rifle) or and under the arm style weapon, like in the picture.

I do want to keep the organic feel, but the pic seems to suggest that it may have some bolted parts on it. I'm trying to find a happy combo of both (likely with their being more organic parts then bolted parts). But I just feel like it wouldn't make much sense for there to be zero bolted parts on it anywhere. Am I wrong in thinking that? Just curious as this isn't my era of expertise lol. There seems to be a lot of this and that and I'm just trying to find a balance lol

Any additional thoughts and or feedback is greatly appreciated!

[Tracyn Ordo]

Slowly is fine Better to take your time and get it right.

For the box, what I mean is more like Aa, but rotated 90^o so that it is underneath the barrel. Just how I would do it though...

It's hard to tell from the picture whether the base of the gun is more geometric with bits attached to it, or more organic with knobbly shapes, though to me if feels more like the later. It kind of makes me think of a knobbly old piece of wood.

My opinion is that the connectors should be something that appear quite organic or natural. The tricky bit is working something out that will be strong enogh and retain the shape you want. Some kind of cord wrapped around wire perhaps?

If you found the right scope then sure that'd work. I guess it just depends on how organic you go with the body of the gun.

An easy way to do the shaped hand grip (how I did it for the grip on my verp) is to pile on a heap of bondo, then wrap it in cling film, and push your hand in to it so you get the rough shape of the grooves the right size and position. Then once the bondo has cured you take off the cling film and tidy it up.

As far as sizing, I would definitely say go for rifle, rather than under the arm. Because of the extra weight and length, something under the arm will be very hard to carry for extended periods of time if you aren't as fit or strong as a crusader was.

I think that really the ratio of organic to non-organic parts comes down to your preference really. There isn't enough quality reference to definitively say one way of the other. Someone like Seugtai may be able to spread some more light on the subject though as I'm sure she has spent many hours pouring over all the reference images.

Something like this is tricky, as the reference images aren't all particularly clear, and there is a lot of room for people to interpret them differently. By the very nature of the era however, there is a lot more room for customisation than say modern era, where the plates are a fairly defined shape/ style. My interpretation of the weapons is that they are very organic in shape,  particularly because their armour is also very organic in form. Just me though Like I said everyone probably has a slightly different interpretation.

PS Hopefully I didn't just make things more confusing...

[Alta]

Hopefully I'll get it done before too much longer. I really can't work on it anymore till January to be honest. Got too much going on right now. The only reason I can do this is cuz I just get to sit down for a few minutes, doodle a bit, and then put it away so I can spend about 20 minutes on it tops. The work that needs doing on the Legacy kit is far more time consuming so it will have to wait for now.

Still not quite sure what you mean on the Aa part. I'll just keep fiddling with it.

Ya the ref pic isn't the best but it's all I got so I'm trying to make due lol. I want this weapon to be very organic but, considering its a weapon and all, it just doesn't make sense to me for it to be 100% organic. A piece of wood, no matter how nicely it's been hollowed out, can't fire any kind a blaster bolt or energy or steam or anything. It has to have parts placed in/on it to make it do that. That's my thought process anyways. Obviously this will still need to be very minimal as their tech is suppose to be limited but I still feel it needs to have some, it just needs to be very little and very dated looking lol. But if the app team comes in and says that's a no go then that's fine. I won't be bothered. I'm just trying to figure out where to start really lol.

Only problem with the cord is that the antler bits are likely to be made of little more than filler material wrapped in fiberglass tape and coated in resin. This will likely leave them somewhat fragile and I worry about anything actively pulling on them. Which is what led me to the hammered metal idea. I thought it might could offer some support without pulling too much on the antlers but I'm not really sure. I'll definitely keep the cord bit in mind though. The more options I have for various bits, the better

I'll try a few things out and see how it goes. Like I said, it was just a thought. I won't be heart broken if it doesn't work out 

Hadn't thought of that for the hand grip, thanks for the great idea! I'll be sure to use that, probably on more than just the hand grip too  Many thanks, vod!

Good point. Well rifle size it is then lol. Least until the app team says otherwise XD

I'll keep working away at the design. It still has a long way to go before anything can be built so I'm sure I'll have lots of time to figure out how it all needs to work. Keep the feedback coming though, everyone! Like I've said before, this is my first ground up weapons build so all help is appreciated. (Kinda debating about posting this over in the weapons mod forums as well, thoughts? Just the bowcaster part mind ya, not the whole thing lol).

In other news, apparently one of my mother's students' family owns a taxidermy place, so I may have just found a legitimate fur supplier! I'll likely only get scraps, which is fine by me, as I need some scraps for the trophy parts, but who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and score some larger pelts too! I'll keep yall posted!

As always, any and all feedback and or tips are greatly appreciated!

[Alta]

So I actually managed to get my hands on an animal hide. Now I know nothing about treating this thing. All the goop (yes, I'm calling it goop lol) has been cleaned off and it is essentially just fur and leather but it hasn't been dried out. How does one do that exactly? I'm searching through the forums and teh web, but I just wanted to make a post and see if anyone following this build knew anything about how to treat animal hides and what not. Then there's the fact that I'm not all that sure what to do with it afterwards. I plan on trying to make a visit to the place my mom got the hide from, but until then, I'm on my own lol. I know absolutely nothing about how to do this. I am sadly completely ignorant on this subject, but I am excited to learn, so any and all help/advice/tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated! I hope to have some more pelts soon! 

EDIT: So I found some stuff on the web that said to dry it out by covering it in non-iodized salt so I went ahead and did that (after I stretched it all out). Any kind info on stuff related to prepping a treating animal pelts though is still greatly appreciated  It's gonna be a while before this thing is anywhere near usable lol

[Azereth]

Salt will work but it may be too stiff. Do a web search for hair on tanning and you'll find more info. I think you'll have to get a tanning solution from a leather place to get it the consistancy you want. It's been a while since I read up on this stuff though so I might be wrong

[Alta]

From what I remember of what my mother remembered the guy telling her (lol) that sounds about right. The salt has indeed dried it way out and it's as stiff as a board, so I'll have to find something to loosen it up a bit. Also, quick question, it's a dear skin, and on some of the leather bits, there are light brown spots...Did I mess up there and it's going rancid there or is that normal? Really hope I didn't mess up ^^;

Any help in this department is appreciated. I'll keep internet searching but, as I said before, if you're bored and feel like postin tips, it would be greatly appreciated 

Also, I'm still in need of feedback on that crossbow. Anything and everything is appreciated!

[TrooperJasher]

Instead of bolting the antlers on, why not make them one into one piece, then in the stock, cut a hole large enough for it to just slip in, then overlay that with another piece of wood, or make it look like it is a decorative bone working.

As for the substitute for the metal, is there any reason your not using some type of rope? You could use some leather strips, giving it a more natural feel, besides it looks like it is some type of rope, since it's not drawing from the ends, but a few inches inward.

As for the scope, with the HUD in your helmet, I don't see a need for one actually... but that is my personal opinion.

I agree with Tracyn, it does look more like a knobby piece of wood, although it would look pretty cool to have the barrel and then layer different antlers/horns, and bone over it. Leaving enough of the barrel visible, but it would still have an extremely organic feel.



Something like that... just an idea, and throwing it out there. Not the best sketches...

[Alta]

Many thanks for the feedback! I greatly appreciate it!

I hadn't thought of making the antlers to where they could slide through and rest in the stock. I'll have to keep that in mind. That makes me think of a couple of other ways I might could approach attaching/anchoring them should some of the ones' I have in my head right now not work out, so many many thanks!!

As for the rope bit, I'll be honest I just hadn't thought of it. The pic made the drawback section look like it was of a more firm/thicker substance, but maybe that was just me. I like the idea of using leather strips. I'll definitely look into that

Ya the scope idea is out. I may have some iron sights what nots but that will be about it.

I'm not sure about using additional antlers as I don't want to overuse that idea, but I hadn't thought about using additional bone, which sounds pretty neat.

Many many thanks for the feedback! I got a lot more ideas zipping through my head now! I'm gonna try to tweak the sketch and re-upload it! If anyone else has anything they might like to add/suggest/what-nots, don't be afraid to chime in! I love all sorts of feedback lol